Setting the Scene
- Top-seeded SWOSU Women's Basketball will meet Harding in the semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament on Saturday, with tipoff set for noon at the Bruin Fieldhouse in Bartlesville, Oklahoma
- The game will be a rematch from a semifinal matchup last season that was won by Harding, 78-64, and eliminated the Lady Bulldogs from the tournament
- SWOSU enters the semifinals on a 28-game win streak after holding off Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday night for a 78-73 victory in the quarterfinals while Harding advanced with a 63-54 victory over Henderson State on Friday afternoon
- SWOSU is 4-2 all-time in the semifinal round of the GAC Tournament, but they've been eliminated one game shy of the Championship game in each of the last two years
- The Lady Dawgs moved up two spots in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) rankings to #8 this week while maintaining the #5 ranking in the D2SIDA Media Poll
 
About the Opponent
(4) Harding (21-8)
- The Lady Bisons won their 21st game and returned to the GAC semifinals with a hard-fought, 63-54 victory over Henderson State on Friday afternoon in Bartlesville
- Harding has now advanced to the GAC semifinals seven times in the eight-year history of the GAC Tournament
- A 74-64 loss to SWOSU on February 28th is one of just two losses for the Lady Bisons in their last 11 games
- Harding had three players earn All-GAC recognition, with Kellie Lampo named First Team while Carissa Caples was Second Team and Cheyenne Brown earned Honorable Mention
- Tim Kirby is in his 14th season leading the Lady Bisons, who he has led to three GAC Championships and three NCAA Tournament berths, including a run to the national semifinals in 2017
 
SWOSU vs. Harding at the GAC Tournament
2012: (2) SWOSU def. (4) Harding 69-58 in Championship Game
2013: (2) SWOSU def. (3) Harding 82-68 in Semifinals
2014: (3) SWOSU def. (1) #2 Harding 78-74 in Championship Game
2018: (4) Harding def. (1) SWOSU 78-63 in Semifinals
 
SWOSU Notes
- With Thursday night's victory over Northwestern, SWOSU improved to 7-1 in the quarterfinal round of the GAC Tournament and 13-5 overall at the event
- The Lady Bulldogs will now look to snap a two-game losing streak in the semifinals and reach their first Championship game since 2016
- Bartlesville native Hailey Tucker led the Lady Bulldogs with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and one steal while playing all 40 minutes for the third straight game and sixth time in the last eight contests
- SWOSU hit 22-of-25 (88.0%) free throw attempts for their second-highest percentage in a game this season in which they shot at least 20 free throws
- GAC Player of the Year Hayden Priddy added 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting while adding three steals to her school-record total in Thursday night's victory
- Bethany Franks and Tyra Aska scored 14 points apiece, helping SWOSU's starting lineup account for 65 of the team's 78 points against Northwestern
- Tucker and Franks led the way for SWOSU on the boards with nine apiece, but the Lady Dawgs were outrebounded 33-to-29 by the Rangers
- Maddie Sperle scored a career-high 18 points in SWOSU's first meeting with Harding this season and averaged 13.5 points per game against the Lady Bisons this season
- After missing the first matchup with Harding due to injury, Bethany Franks returned with 15 points and five rebounds in the Lady Bulldogs 74-64 win in Searcy just over one week ago
- In two meetings with Harding during the regular season, SWOSU forced 47 turnovers, including 31 steals, and converted those into 49 points off turnovers
- SWOSU is 3-1 all-time against Harding at the GAC Tournament, eliminating the Lady Bisons from the event in each of the first three years of its existence before Harding defeated the Lady Bulldogs last season
 
Looking Ahead
- The winner of Saturday's semifinal matchup will advance to the Championship game of the GAC Tournament, where they will face the winner of (3) Southern Nazarene and (2) Arkansas Tech on Sunday at 1:00 pm